A dual-time story set in occupied France and modern day, where a girl confides in an elderly neighbour and learns of wartime secrets. Beautifully written and quite mesmerising.
CASTROUX, FRANCE, 1939. In a bare farmhouse on a windswept plain above the village, Oriane, orphaned at thirteen, lives in desperate poverty. When the Germans invade, Oriane finds work in a Nazi barracks while her fiance joins the Resistance. Their simple world is thrown into chaos. Casual brutality is common; rebellion is imminent; revenge will be swift and severe. CASTROUX, FRANCE, 2000. In an idyllic gite overlooking the quaint village church, British expat Aisling frets about her chocolate parfait, determined to impress her brother-in-law's glamorous fiancee Claudia. But Claudia couldn't care less about chocolate parfait. She's pregnant by another man and terrified of the future. She confides only in an elderly neighbour, Oriane, and discovers that she too once carried a shameful secret - from which she still bears the scars. THE HOUSE WITH BLUE SHUTTERS. A place that has witnessed the horrors of wartime, the petty concerns of peacetime, and the secrets that bind past and present. A place where history echoes off every wall -
'Hilton's style is positivly edible' Sunday Telegraph
'Refreshing both in the lightness of touch and the vividness of description' Sunday Express
'Scintillating... vivid' Observer
Author
About Lisa Hilton
Lisa Hilton is the critically acclaimed author of 'Athenais: The Real Queen of France' and 'Mistress Peachum's Pleasure'. She was educated at Oxford University, and presently lives in Central London.
